


Burning for You

by FervidAsAFlame



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Fluff, M/M, firefighter!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28592817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FervidAsAFlame/pseuds/FervidAsAFlame
Summary: Arthur’s been friends with Merlin for ages and never had any problem keeping his attraction a secret. That is, until there’s a fire at his office and Merlin shows up in firefighter gear.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 381
Collections: Finish that Fic Merlin!, Round Table Gift Exchange 2020





	Burning for You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [woodworms_before_breakfast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodworms_before_breakfast/gifts).



> Happy Holidays to you, [wormwoods_before_breakfast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodworms_before_breakfast)! I’m sorry this is so very, very late! I had a very chaotic Christmas season but I didn’t want to drop out because I was so looking forward to writing something for you! I hope you like it! <3 I did my best to work with the prompts :)
> 
> Thank you so much to the mods at the [Merlin Fic Book Club Discord Server](https://discord.gg/3zTdNDYpba) for organizing this wonderful fest! It was so much fun! 
> 
> Thank you so much to [Divine529](https://archiveofourown.org/users/divine529) for all your help with brainstorming ideas and for your encouragement! I’d still be flailing around trying to think of something BAMFy if it wasn’t for your help, so you deserve all the credit for conception of the idea :) <3
> 
> And thank you, as ever, to the lovely [Aoigensou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoigensou) for the cheerleading and beta work <3

Arthur didn't really feel comfortable blaming an unborn baby, so he supposed Gwen would do. Or her husband, who had been the one to distract her with a call when she was meant to be watching the popcorn as it popped in the microwave. Or the bloody microwave itself for being so overeager than it burnt the popcorn in the time it took for Gwen to take said call. Or really the universe, for allowing all this to happen when Merlin just so happened to be covering a shift for a mate. 

Regardless of whom, Arthur needed _someone_ to blame, because the only other alternative was that he had been an idiot for nearly a decade. 

Because what had happened was that his PA — Gwen, seven months pregnant — had been craving popcorn, got distracted by a phone call from her husband, stopped watching the popcorn, which then took the opportunity to catch on fire and set off the fire alarm. 

And of course, of _course_ — it was Merlin's brigade that had shown up on the scene. 

Really it ought to have been nice for Arthur — God knows they barely saw each other any more, now that they no longer shared a flat. And it _would_ have been nice — if Arthur hadn't suddenly realized with the force of a lorry slamming into his brain that Merlin was _fit_. Extremely fucking fit, if he was being honest. 

And he wasn't the only one who had noticed. 

A solid half of his staff — men included — were openly gaping at Merlin, who was standing with his back to the group of office workers huddled on the pavement in the autumn sunshine. He had tucked the yellow helmet under his arm and was speaking to several other blokes from the fire brigade, pausing occasionally to bark orders into a communicator clipped to his jacket. The firefighter's jacket that bulked out his figure was undone now that the urgency had passed, revealing a tight white T-shirt underneath and when in the hell had Merlin’s pecs started looking like _that_? 

Arthur had a vague recollection of Merlin tagging along with him to the gym several times right before he’d moved out — he’d been peeved at some recent ex who’d called him “scrawny” when they broke up and had asked for Arthur’s help setting up a gym routine. Which he had clearly kept up with. Arthur, feeling bewildered by the sight in front of him, tried to recall the last time he’d seen Merlin wearing anything other than an oversized hoodie or baggy band T-shirt.

In the meantime, he was pretty sure he'd heard his best and most no-nonsense project manager comment to an admin that she was going home to set her flat on fire. 

Arthur swallowed.

He watched his friend direct his fellow firefighters into the office space, which was still spewing smoke, with the practised ease of a man who was used to being listened to. He spoke into a communicator, then said something to a paramedic who had come to him for guidance. His clear blue eyes scanned the small crowd and he grinned when his eyes locked with Arthur's. 

It was like looking at one of those images that slid infuriatingly between being a vase and a set of faces looking at each other — one moment, there was the extremely fit firefighter who was clearly in charge, and the next there was Merlin, who needed six pillows to sleep and always cried openly at the end of Lord of the Rings. 

Arthur realized that he had joined the ranks of those gaping at Merlin and quickly tried to school his features. He cursed under his breath when Merlin started making his way through the crowd toward him. The eyes of his employees followed Merlin’s path and began to turn questioningly to Arthur instead. 

“Arthur,” Merlin said, clapping him on the back. "I know we said last week that we need to get together soon, but I didn't mean set fire to your office."

To Arthur's ears his laugh sounded hysterical, but Merlin didn't seem to notice. 

"Yes, well," he said, suddenly feeling stupid in his three piece suit. He was acutely aware that in his boots, Merlin had a solid three inches on him. "You weren't answering my texts."

The joke wasn't really funny, but Merlin laughed anyway. 

"Well, it's certainly one way to get my attention."

Arthur was positive that Merlin wasn't flirting intentionally, but something felt off kilter between them and it was charging the conversation in a way that was disorienting Arthur terribly. He was still several steps behind, trying to figure out when his best friend had turned into someone so gorgeous.

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied, straightening his tie. "What about my office then? Will it live?"

"Hmm, might do. Probably won't be cleared for a couple hours yet though. Might be a good time to give your employees the afternoon off, you workaholic."

"Emrys," came a call from the cluster of firefighters emerging from the building. 

Merlin rolled his eyes in Arthur's direction and started walking backward toward the fire engine. 

"Ugh. I gotta — yeah. But we'll get together soon, right? At the weekend maybe?"

"Sure," Arthur said, but Merlin's laser sharp focus had already shifted to the needs of his crew.

Arthur cleared his throat, aware that all eyes were on him now. 

"Alright, you heard the man — everyone take the rest of the afternoon off."

*

Later that evening, Arthur sat in his flat with the lights off flat, flipping his phone over and over in his hands. He was about to do something simple, something he’d done a thousand times in the past, but somehow it felt different after this afternoon. Arthur couldn’t stop thinking about the confidence that Merlin had oozed as he had walked around the scene of the fire, the self-assured way that he’d directed the brigade. There was something about seeing Merlin taking charge that made Arthur’s stomach flutter and his throat go dry. 

Not to mention his bloody abs in that tight shirt.

He sighed and brought up Merlin’s name on the screen, then hit call quickly before he could lose his nerve. _It’s just Merlin_ , he scolded himself as the call rang through. Merlin picked up quickly with a cheery, “Hey, long time no see.” 

“Right?” Arthur forced a laugh. He’d hoped that the darkness would help his nerves, but instead it made the conversion feel intimate. He swallowed drily and forced himself to go on before he lost his nerve. “I was actually calling to see if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow?” 

“Didn’t get enough of me today, eh?” Merlin laughed. “Sounds good though, where do you want to go? The Rising Sun is having some kind of trivia night I think, but there’s a new —” 

“Actually, I was thinking you could come to mine. I’m going to cook,” Arthur said, his cheeks heating.

Merlin laughed, then there was a moment of silence.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Merlin said, sounding amused. 

“Yes, I’m serious,” Arthur replied, hoping that his eye-roll came across.

“Have you forgotten the rice incident? Because I’m telling you, that pan hasn’t been the same since.” 

“That was in _uni_ Merlin, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about cooking since then.” 

“It was the year _after_ uni,” Merlin corrected, voice fond. “That flat on the dodgy side of town with the door that didn’t latch properly and the neighbors who liked to shag before work.” 

“Good times,” Arthur said dryly. 

“The best,” Merlin agreed. “Alright then, you can cook. But I reserve the right to order takeaway if it's inedible.” 

“Deal,” Arthur said. “Come around seven?”

“It’s a date.” 

After several minutes of catching up, Arthur rang off and sat in the darkness, wondering if Merlin had any idea how badly Arthur wanted it to be exactly that. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and opened a browser on his phone. 

_How do I make my flat look like we’re on a date?_

Arthur scrolled the search results, opening several helpful-looking articles and started reading. 

*

When the buzzer rang, Arthur gave his flat a final look-over and deemed it as ready as it would ever be. 

Despite going down a feng shui rabbit hole the previous night, it had been relatively easy to set up the flat to suggest “this is a date” in what he hoped was a fairly unsubtle way. Aside from general tidying up, he’d strung up fairy lights around the living room to give the space a soft romantic glow, bought a new fleece blanket to drape over the back of the sofa in hopes of getting cosy, and had even optimistically changed the sheets on his bed. The smell of the roasted red pepper pasta he’d just finished preparing curled through the kitchen, while the rest of the flat smelled like “Rich Mahogany” thanks to a scented candle he’d picked up during his outing. He’d already set the table and opened a bottle of wine to breathe, so there was nothing else to do but buzz Merlin up. 

He paced as he waited, checking his hair twice in the hallway mirror and smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the khakis he’d paired with a thin grey jumper that hugged his chest nicely. After what felt like forever, Merlin knocked and Arthur pulled the door open with a smile. 

“Hey,” Merlin said with a grin that immediately faltered. “Were you working today?”

“What? No, why?”

“Oh well it’s just,” Merlin gestured to Arthur’s clothes, then to his own skinny jeans and oversized Camelot Fire and Rescue hoodie. “I’m feeling a little underdressed.” 

“Nah, come on in,” Arthur said, stepping back to let Merlin in. He firmly shoved down all thoughts of how much more underdressed he’d like Merlin to be. 

“What, did you forget to pay your electric bill?” Merlin joked as he toed off his trainers and stepped into the dim light of the living room. “And Christ it’s bloody — Arthur, do you actually have the heating at a sensible temperature?! Who are you and what have you done with my best friend.” 

Arthur opened his mouth to protest that 17 was a perfectly sensible temperature if you wear a jumper, but suddenly Merlin was casually stripping off his hoodie. Arthur promptly shut his mouth again and silently thanked Cosmo for suggesting that he turn the heating up in case clothes started coming off. Merlin turned to toss the hoodie onto an armchair, giving Arthur time to appreciate the way that the henley shirt he’d been wearing underneath stretched over the muscle of his broad shoulders. 

When Merlin turned back to him, Arthur promptly forgot whatever it was he’d been about to say. Merlin didn’t just look good in the snug shirt, he looked devastating. The fabric hugged his pecs and the solid muscle of his arms all the way down to his narrow hips and flat stomach. The top two buttons were undone and the deep burgundy of the shirt contrasted nicely with his pale throat. Arthur couldn’t stop his traitor brain from imagining how it would feel to sink his teeth into the band of muscle at Merlin’s neck. 

Merlin frowned again. 

“Are you feeling okay? Because if not we can always—”

“No! No!” Arthur said, giving himself a firm shake and smiling at Merlin in what he hoped wasn’t a frantic way. “I’m fine — come on into the kitchen, I just finished dinner.”

“It smells amazing,” Merlin said, inhaling deeply. He stopped, took another whiff of the air and looked around the room curiously. “Are you burning a candle?”

“Uhh, yes,” Arthur replied as Merlin spotted the flame and crossed the room to snuff it. 

“Shouldn’t leave that burning unattended,” he scolded Arthur. “It’s my day off.” 

“Oh, yeah. Right,” Arthur said, feeling supid for not thinking of it himself. Luckily Merlin didn’t seem to notice Arthur’s discomfort and had already started chattering about a call he’d been on the previous week where an old woman had called to say her house was burning down, but when they’d arrived it turned out that her cat had got too close to a candelabra and set its tail on fire. 

“And when we asked her where the fire was, she said that she’d just wanted us to check the cat’s burn, but she didn’t think we’d have come if she said that,” Merlin laughed, throwing his arms in the air as he sat at the table. “Do I look like I’m a bloody veterinarian?”

Arthur laughed, feeling a little more relaxed. He casually lit a match and tried to calm his racing heart as he held it to the candle he’d set on the table. “So did you look at the cat then?’

“Of course I did!” Merlin replied indignantly. “We’d come all the way out to help, hadn’t we?”

“And?” Arthur said, placing Merlin’s plate in front of him and turning to fetch the wine.

“And it was fine — just a tiny singe. To be honest I think it was more bothered by me having a look than it was by being ... caught on … fire ...”

Merlin trailed off and there was a silence in which Arthur put the cloth napkin in his lap and studiously avoided Merlin's eyes. He tried to imagine the scene through his friend’s eyes: the candlelight, the homemade meal, the wine glasses, the soft music playing from the speakers in the living room. There was really only one conclusion to be drawn — at least Arthur hoped. 

“Arthur?” Merlin’s voice sounded carefully neutral. Arthur shoved a forkful of the pasta into his mouth to buy some time. 

“Hmm?” When he dared to look across the table, Merlin was staring at the candle with a little frown that made the skin between his eyebrows wrinkle. 

“This looks like — are you,” Merlin finally looked at him questioningly. “Was this meant to be a … date?”

Merlin waited while Arthur chewed, and the uncertainty in his eyes was at such odds with the confidence he’d been oozing the day before that it bolstered Arthur’s courage somewhat. He swallowed, wiped at his mouth with the napkin and cleared his throat. 

“Well — yes,” he answered, voice firm. “If you want it to be?” 

Merlin’s answering smile was blinding. 

“Alright,” he said, picking up his fork and twirling a bit of the pasta on. “I’m okay with that. Wait,” he looked up again with alarm in his eyes. “You didn’t really set your office on fire to see me, right?”

“What? No! That was all Gwen and her popcorn,” Arthur replied. Merlin eyed him suspiciously. “I swear! But I mean — seeing you like that did help things along a bit.” 

Merlin looked confused.

“Like what?” 

“You know,” Arthur said, gesturing toward Merlin with one hand. “All in-charge and bossy and fit in your uniform.”

“What?” Merlin sputtered, turning pink. “I’m not — wait, you think I’m fit?”

“Uh, _yes_ ,” Arthur said. “Why do you think I did all this?” 

Merlin carefully set down his fork and blinked at the table for several moments. It was all Arthur could do not to squirm in his seat. When Merlin met his eyes again he was frowning. 

“So you’ve known me for years and now just because you’ve seen me looking all butch, suddenly I’m good enough for you?”

“What? No, that’s not it at all,” Arthur almost shouted, indignation and panic warring with each other in his chest. 

“But isn’t that what you just said?” Merlin asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Well, yes but, no. It’s just that—” Arthur blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I think I tried not to.”

Merlin just looked at him, waiting, so he blundered on. 

“I tried for so many years _not_ to see you that way, because I knew we were mates and I didn’t want to ruin that, but … the feelings aren’t new, Merlin. It’s just that after I saw you there, like that … well. There was no unseeing it.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow, but the stiffness seemed to melt out of him. When Arthur took a chance and reached his hand across the table, Merlin rolled his eyes and took it with a fond smile. 

“I’m sorry my brain is so dumb,” Arthur said. “But I think it’s finally caught up now.” 

Merlin’s hand was rough and warm in his, and he squeezed Arthur’s tightly. 

“I like your dumb brain,” Merlin murmurred, releasing his hand. “And I’m sorry but I’m starving and this pasta looks amazing — you made this?”

“Mm hmm,” Arthur nodded. “Roasted the peppers myself.” 

Merlin took a careful bite then let out an appreciative moan that sent Arthur’s blood rushing south. 

“God that’s good! Alright, dumb brain is forgiven. Date may proceed.”

“Well, good to know that you’re easy to please,” Arthur replied, kicking at his feet under the table. Merlin just laughed. 

Over the course of the meal, Merlin seemed to waver in the same way that he had done on the pavement in front of the office. The familiarity of eating together put Arthur at ease — they’d done it a hundred times, after all. But every once in a while Merlin would tilt his head at a certain cocky angle, or lick sauce off his finger, or just smile warmly at Arthur in a way that kept him very much aware that this was in fact a seduction. Although who exactly was being seduced was becoming less and less clear by the minute. 

Which was why Arthur was relieved when Merlin had grabbed his arm and growled “leave it” when Arthur stood to start cleaning up the dishes. And even more relieved when Merlin had tugged him closer then leaned in for a kiss. 

Merlin kissed him as boldly as if he’d done it a thousand times, not hesitating at all to sweep his tongue over Arthur’s lower lip or to plunge it inside when Arthur gasped. He melted against Merlin, setting him off balance until he rested back against the table with a low chuckle that went straight to Arthur’s groin. He took advantage of the moment to slip his hands under Merlin’s shirt and run them along his narrow waist. He looked up from under his lashes and Merlin made a low noise in his throat, pulling Arthur closer for another long kiss.

Arthur leaned in, happy to lose himself in the taste of Merlin, in the warm slide of their mouths together. Merlin’s hands had wandered to his arse and just as he was trying to decide between pushing back or grinding forward, he felt Merlin freeze beneath him. A moment later, Arthur wrinkled his nose. 

“What’s that smell —”

“Jesus fuck,” Merlin swore, leaping away from the table and smacking at his elbow. When he glared at the candle still lit on the table, Arthur put it together and started laughing helplessly. 

“Think this is funny, do you?” Merlin said with mock anger as he examined the hole burnt through the elbow of his shirt. “Bloody open flames. Ought to be banned if you ask me. You haven’t got any more, have you?”

Arthur pretended to consider. 

“I think I may have one lit in the bedroom,” he told Merlin, trying to keep his expression as sincere as possible — which didn’t fool Merlin for a second. Merlin crossed his arms lazily and cocked one hip.

“Oh really? Is that so?” he asked in a low, teasing tone. 

“Mmm,” Arthur hummed in agreement, grabbing Merlin by the belt loops and pulling him closer. “Maybe we should go check on it?” 

“I think that would be the responsible thing to do,” Merlin replied, taking Arthur’s hand in his and leaning in for one last kiss. “Lead the way.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> Please check out some of the other fics in the [Round Table Gift Exchange](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Round_Table_Gift_Exchange/works), because there are lots of gems from an amazing group of writers and artists!


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